Court Drops PTA Charges Against Harak Kata in CID Escape Plot Case

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo High Court has ruled that charges filed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) against Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, alias "Harak Kata", and four other defendants cannot be maintained before court.

The ruling was delivered in relation to indictments filed under the PTA alleging that the accused had conspired to escape while "Harak Kata" was being detained in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under detention orders.

However, the court held that, when considering the nature of the offences allegedly committed by the accused, there was no legal impediment to proceeding with the charges that had been filed against them under the Penal Code.

The order was issued by Colombo High Court Judge Buddhika C. Ragala after upholding preliminary objections raised by President's Counsel U.R. de Silva, Attorney-at-Law Jaliya Samarasinghe and other lawyers appearing on behalf of the defendants.